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SUN-SENTINEL (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) 15 November 05 Fisherman snags 11-foot Burmese python at favorite angling spot in Stuart (Gabriel Margasak)
Stuart: It was one heck of a fish story -- and the punch line was an 11-foot albino Burmese python.
The slow-slithering reptile with intricate yellow markings was the talk of the office Monday, as outdoorsman Jerry McBride showed off the surprise catch from his weekend fishing spot on the Indian River Lagoon at Walton Road.
"It's the biggest thing I caught Saturday," he said with the snake on his lap.
McBride, 51, an assistant editor at Stuart's Florida Sportsman and Shallow Water Angler magazines, said he thinks the snake's owner dumped it after it got too big. Fearless after raising pet snakes as a kid in Nebraska, he snatched the approximately 40-pound snake from its grassy hiding place on the bank and took the reptile home to the family in Jensen Beach.
"My son, who's 10, thinks it's the best thing around," McBride said.
While snakes are legal to own, wildlife officials said owners usually realize in about a year that the cute little snake in the window is a bit hard to handle when it grows to 26 feet long, eating whole chickens and rabbits. Owners can be fined hundreds of dollars if a python escapes.
Combined, those complications often lead to abandonment and a growing invasive population.
"More than 250 have been documented in the Everglades," wildlife commission spokesman Willie Puz said. "They can kill Florida native wildlife, and that's one of the things we don't want to have happen."
Pythons found in the national park are killed because of that danger, he said.
McBride had more lively plans for "Cornelius," so named by his 10-year-old son, Michael, and his friends.
He called in Bruce Dangerfield, a Vero Beach animal control officer known for using his snakes for educational talks. Dangerfield, founder of the Treasure Coast Herpetological Society, said he has friends and fellow hobbyists with large cages who have agreed to care for McBride's catch.
Fisherman snags 11-foot Burmese python

I love a happy ending

Quig

"While snakes are legal to own, wildlife officials said owners usually realize in about a year that the cute little snake in the window is a bit hard to handle when it grows to 26 feet long, eating whole chickens and rabbits."

Wait did they miss small children in the eating list? Miami Animal Police said they could eat small children!?! So much for that giant freezer I ordered...

It is nice to hear a good ending for once! I will never understand just dumping them. My rescued iguana is so sweet (acting), I can't understand how someone could just dump him in a box at a construction site! I really seemed well cared for otherwise and very tame (acting) even with my kids!
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Rescued Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Rescued Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-1-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-0-1 Rescued Dieting Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
0-1-0 Rescued Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids